Catalonian Sketches: The Olivia Pérez Collellmir Mompou Project

Proud of its own identity and language, Catalonia is one of Spain’s richest regions and also one of the most independent-minded. With a distinct history stretching back to the early middle ages, many Catalans think of themselves as a separate nation from the rest of Spain.

Olivia Pérez Collellmir is a solo pianist, bandleader, and composer from the Catalan capital of Barcelona. Noted in The Arts Fuse, an on-line arts journal, as a “Spanish virtuoso” who adds “a flamenco touch to her chamber jazz,” Collellmir’s most recent performance highlights include playing on soundtrack of Isla Bonita by renowned director Fernando Colomo, touring with Spanish Grammy winner Rosana Arbelo, performing an honorary concert at Berklee for the legendary Rita Moreno, and being invited to give private performances for United States Secretary of State John Kerry, opera star Renée Fleming, and Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb.

The Olivia Pérez Collellmir Mompou Project is as ode to her culture which she has loved since she first began playing piano as a child in the Conservatory of Barcelona. For this project, she will perform and reintepret the music of the impressionist Catalonian composer Mompou within the idioms of contemporary global music and jazz. Olivia had the amazing opportunity to learn to play this music from his intimate collaborators and disciples. As Olivia puts it “Like no other composer, his music portrays in sound the soul of my country, the colors of the Mediterranean Sea and the character of the Catalonian people.” She is attempting to give Mompou the wider recognition she believes he deserves, exporting his music internationally using new approaches, bringing it into the language of jazz and mixing it with the music of other cultures.

Joining Olivia will be the excellent Greek born laouto player Vasilis Kostasand the superb percussionist George Lernis who was born in Cyprus.